Last year was a sociable one for food bloggers, putting it mildly, we had many meetups and events. It was a busy few months prior to Christmas, so much so that I didn’t blog half of what I did, and wondered at times if I should have a second blog, as it seemed that recipe posts were being dwarfed by everything else, if only because I had no time to cook. I will change that this year. I love to cook, and I need to. I love playing and creating, tasting and eating, photographing and styling, but there was just no time.

Ah, blog guilt.

After our first bloggers meetup, we had many more, my personal highlight was the macaron classes at L’atelier des Chefs with 18 other food bloggers. I’ve always wanted to make these scary little things, but never had, and was very excited at the prospect of being taught by a chef. More than this, it was such a fun day, I laughed so much, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I want to run my own little class at home for friends now, a kind of macaron party, but my kitchen right now, is too small for that!

Another highlight involved L’atelier des Chefs. They invited me to be a judge for their annual cooking compeition, the Cusine Cup, with fellow judges Pascal Aussignac, chef at Club Gascon & Will Torrent, an up and coming confectioner and pastry chef. It was an inspiring day and a very worthwhile experience. I am looking forward to seeing how our winner, Luke, fares in final in Paris this year and I wish him the very best.

Ferran Adria paid a trip to London as part of his international book tour, how could I miss that? It was a really interesting evening where Ferran led us through the magic that he creates in his kitchen. It was fantastic. I just hope that some day I get to eat there!

We’re coming to the end now, if you’re still reading, I am flattered, as I am rambling! The year ended on a high, when Eat Like a Girl was included in The Times Online Top 10 Food Blogs in the World. I was very honoured and flattered to be included. It still brings a very big smile to my face when I think of it.

Any regrets? I try not to have any as a rule, as I find them negative and destructive if you dwell on them, but you can learn from them too. It’s best to live in the moment and enjoy what you can, do all you can well and be proud of what you achieve. But, what I will change, is that I will blog more. There were times last year where I was blogging terribly infrequently, but I don’t want to blog for the sake of it, and only when I have done something worth sharing and have the time to do it justice. So, I’ll create more of those food moments this year make sure that I have the time to write about them.

This year, I will make sure that posts don’t linger in drafts, as so many did last year, I am looking at you: Chicken Noodle Soup; Chicken, Chorizo & Kale Stew; Black Bean Chilli; Linguine with Courgette, Tomato & Basil, Sherry & Food Matchingw ith Heston Blumenthal; Whitley Neill Gin Tasting and Gallery Chocolate Tasting. Perhaps I should finish them and publish them throughout this month anyway! What do you think?

So, having reviewed this, and pieced it all together, I’ve just had to exhale. 2008 was a charmer! It took me by surprise and brought me to great places. I met some great people and fellow food bloggers, and I look forward to meeting them some more. I wait with anticipation for the joys that I hope 2009 will bring.